I just read your article on Stand Alone Living Benefits. Is there also discussion in the industry about a Stand Alone Death Benefit that would provide a guaranteed death benefit regardless of the performance of the managed assets?

I am not aware of anyone working on a standalone guaranteed death benefit, although I am not super close to it.

Seems like there are still just a handful of people involved in the space period, and the focus thus far has been on living benefits and income features rather than life insurance / death benefits.

A big part of the SALB "story" involves the relatively low cost structure and the ability to distribute through registered investment advisors (RIA) who might not otherwise touch "costly" insurance products.

Adding the death benefit and related charge sort of cuts against this inexpensive, focused approach.

There are a handful of people and companies focused on this space.  Send us an email and we'll be happy to point you in the right direction.